Dental engine attachment



Oct. 9, 1951 J, c so 2,570,812

DENTAL ENGINE ATTACHMENT Filed Sept. 15, 1948 v INVENTOR. J HN [LJAUKSON ATTORNES/S Patented Oct. 9, 1 951 a UNITED STATE DENTAL ENGINE ATTACHMENT John H. Jackson, Newton, Mass.

Application September 1948, Serial No. 19,418 I 2 claims. 01. 3228) My present invention relates to apparatus-to 'be attached to a dental engine to supply water to the grinding stone carried b thehandpiece operatively connected to the engine.

It has long been proposed to provide dental engines with means to supply liquid to the tool connected to the handpiece both for the comfort of the patient and to assist the dentist in his work. Such means have had some acceptance, but are not satisfactory because of expensive construction and unsatisfactory operation.

) In accordance with my invention I provide apparatus particularly adapted for use in supplyingwater tea-grinding stone-attached to'the handpiece of a dentaiengme: Such dentalengines have an upwardly inclined swinging bracket, a mount for the handpiece, and pivotally interconnected links pivotally connected to the bracket and to the mount. One of the links has a mount hanger to support the handpiece adjacent the upper end of the bracket when not in use.

I connect a liquid container to the bracket of the engine intermediate its ends. The container has a valve controlled outlet connected to a discharge tip by a flexible conduit and the tip is connected to the handpiece to discharge liquid against the stone. By this construction, whenever the valve controlled outlet is open, the liquid is free to flow under the influence of gravity onto the grinding wheel whenever the tip is below the container as it is in any position of use while such flow is prevented when the handpiece is held b its hanger thereby making it unnecessary to employ the valve in the outlet except as means to regulate the liquid flow as desired by the dentist.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown an illustrative embodiment of my invention from which its novel features and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a dental engine equipped with means in accordance with my invention to supply water to the grinding wheel when the handpiece is so equipped,

and

Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned view on an enlarged scale of the liquid supply means shown in Fig. 1.

In the drawings, I have indicated a dental engine generally at 5. Such a unit includes an upwardly inclined swinging bracket 6, a mount 1 for the handpiece 8, and links 9 and I pivotally connected, respectively, to the bracket 6 and the handpiece mount 1, and to each other. The handpiece mount I has a pulley driven shaft indicated at H which is rotated b a cable [2 trained over the drive pulley l3 and the idler pulleys l4.

The link 9 has a hanger l5 engageable by the mount 1 so that when the engine is not to be used, the mount I may be supported within convenient reach of the dentist adjacent the upper end of the bracket 6 as indicated by the dotted line positions of the mount 1', the handpiece 8, and the links 9'and min Fig. 1. When the dental engine is'to beused, the inount 1 is removed from the hanger l5 and it will be obvious that, in any position of its use,'the handpiece 8 will be held by the dentist below the lower. end of the bracket 6'.

Myinventionis primarily intended for use in supplying a suitable flow of water to a grinding stone l6 both to ensure its most efficient cutting action and to minimize pain and discomfort to the patient.

My apparatus consists of a container I1 shown as having a vented cap l8 threaded thereon. At its bottom, the container I! has an adjustable outlet valve l9 to control the flow of water from it through the flexible conduit 20 which I provide with a discharge tip 2| detachably mounted on the handpiece 8 to direct water against the stone Hi.

In practice, I connect the container I! to the engine bracket 6 intermediate its ends so that whenever the handpiece 8 is supported by the hanger IS, the discharge tip 2| will be located above the container H to stop the flow of liquid therethrough without the necessity of operating the valve [9 as a shut-01f. Whenever the handpiece is in use, however, water flows through the tip 2| against the stone I6 under the influence of gravity.

While the container ll may be supported by the bracket 6 in various ways, that shown in the drawings has proved satisfactory in use both because of its simplicity and because it enables the container to be detached therefrom quickly and easily. As shown in the drawings, I provide a U-shaped clip 22 adapted to fit over one of the arms 23 of the bracket 6 and to be securely clamped in desired position thereon by means of a screw 24 by which the ends of the lip are drawn together. The clip ends have transversely alined and downwardly inclined pockets 25. I provide the cap I8 with an upwardly extending stem 26 dimensioned to enter between the clip ends and having a transverse member 21 which enters the pockets 25 to establish a pivotal support for the container I1.

I have shown the discharge tip 2| as having secured thereto one end of a clip 28 having a portion 29 dimension to frictionally engage with the cylindrical portion 30 of the handpiece 8. This type of clip is preferred as it enables the discharge end of the tip 2| to be spaced as desired relative to the stone l6.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that apparatus in accordance with my invention may be economically manufactured and is adapted to be quickly and-te'asilyattached to orzremovedfrom the dental engine, particularly after the clip 22 has been locked in place on the bracket 6. As the tip holding clip 28 is frictionally connected to the handpiece 8, it may be quicklyremoved therefrom Whenever its use is not required and I have shown the container cap l8- a s having a post 31 to be engaged by the. clip '28 .s0..that.,.it is supported to be conveniently accessible without interfering, in any manner, with the use of the dental engine 5..

When a dental :engine hasbeenaequipped-with apparatus in 'accordancewith my invention, it

is only necessary for the dentist to fill thelcon- =tainer l! at intervals. Whilethe'valvefiw'may be and usually is closed when the *enginez -is not in use, its primary function is to regulate the flow to the stone :l6.-as the dentist may, desire.

When my apparatus is thus regulated, flow through the discharge tip 2| is automatically preventedwhen the handpieceE'B is supported by the hanger I 5 but is immediatelyvresumed: when the dentist positions it for use.

What I therefore claim and: desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. Apparatus .for supplying'water to-i-a grinding wheel attached to a handpiece operatively connected to a dental engine having a bracket, said apparatus comprising a container including an upwardly disposed member an upwardly disposed stem and a transverse member carried by said stem, a U-shaped clip to be attached to the bracket and having its ends spaced to receive said stem between them and formed with transversely alined and downwardly inclined pockets (to receive *saiditransversemember, a discharge tip including a sleeve to be attached to said handpiece, and a conduit effecting communication between said conduit and said tip, said sleeve :bei-ng attachable to said upwardly disposed memher when detached from said hand piece.

'2. A water supplying attachment for a dental engine saidattachment comprising a water container including an upwardly disposed stem and atransverse member carried by said stem, and a U-shaped clip attachable to said engine and inclu'ding depending :ends spaced apart to :receive 'said fstem between "them; and having transversely aline'd andsidownwardly inclined pockets toreceive said transverse .member.

JOHN H. JACKSDN.

:REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

